Emotional Architecture at Its Best with Biometric Technology
“Emotional Architecture” is a term first started by Mexican architect Luis Barragán and sculptor-painter Mathias Goéritz. This term means the creation of an aesthetically and spiritually uplifting buildings that will drive human emotions. This term avoids the banal way of build and refers to a more psychological approach focusing on the human wants and needs.
It is nothing new that modern technology is alienating people from themselves and is creating a mechanical ambiance. Emotional architecture came forward to challenge that and create an ambiance close to one’s inner selves and reconnect them to their inner peace. However still now there is no way to scientifically measure this approach and for this reason Biometric software comes to the rescue.
Emotional architecture focuses on our attention and moods. It is related with many psychological attributes such as color, materials, and many more. For example, people tend to feel warm and relaxed when surrounded by materials from nature itself such as wood or stones. On the other hand, people perceive man made materials as cold and gloomy. That is why emotional architecture is important to integrate with biometric measures so the exact process can be measured and tailored accordingly.
People tend to give more attention to specific scenes and tend to avoid blank and dull views. Using this basic human nature, architect Ann Sussman and designer Janice M. Ward has used iris scanner to measure our view focus attention and facial expression reading software to measure emotion an focus. With this new pilot study, the system was able to read unconscious eye movement and facial expressions. This study is the first step to measure how people see and connect it to architectural designs.
The study showed that people tend to ignore blank and dull facades and tend to give more attention to detailed sides of an architecture such as windows or doors. A blank wall will be less likely to get more attention than a decorated wall with paintings or wall matt. Using this biometric technology, architects will be able to predict the right design for the right person and also improve any existing buildings just by adding the necessary changes. This system will allow to grab the most attention of the viewer and create or build a mesmerizing architectural creation.
